Live text

Reporting:

Last updated 18 March 2014

STANDARD 09:25

Welcome to our live coverage as Malaysian authorities are shortly expected to hold a news conference about missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

STANDARD 09:25

The Malaysian government believes the plane was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position in the Malacca Straits.

STANDARD 09:26

Search efforts are focused on two corridors - one stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and another from Indonesia to the Indian Ocean. Click here to find out more about how operations are being carried out.

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CCTV News

tweets: Chinese ambassador to Malaysia: China has begun searching within its territory of the northern corridor. #MH370

STANDARD 09:33

Investigators are looking into the possibility that the aircraft's crew - or other individuals on the plane - were involved in its disappearance. China says that based on background checks, there is no evidence to suggest that the 153 mainland Chinese passengers on the plane were involved in hijacking or launching a terror attack.

STANDARD 09:34

The Malaysian minister of transport opens the press conference, saying that the search has taken on "a new international dimension".